Bangor Target store sets March 7 opening date

Target Corp. will open its Bangor location Sunday, March 7, to coincide with the opening of 28 other stores nationwide.

The new stores will use the chain’s latest floor design, complete with an expanded food section and Starbucks cafe.

It will be the first Starbucks in Bangor.

Chris Rose, an executive team leader at the Bangor Target, said Thursday the store is roughly two-thirds complete in terms of inventory, and 225 team members, nearly all local employees, are on board to keep pace with expected heavy traffic when the store opens.

“Everything we do is based on speed,” Rose said. “Our customers’ time is valuable to them and we want to get them in and out as quickly as possible.”

“We don’t want guests to have to wait at checkouts. If there are more than two customers at a register, we’re going to call for help and open as many registers as we have to.”

The opening of the Bangor location comes on the heels of news that the retailer recorded a 21 percent increase in earnings during the fourth quarter. Strong sales at its namesake discount stores offset continued sluggish results at the company’s Marshall Field’s and Mervyn’s stores.

Target’s corporate office in Minneapolis said Thursday it earned $832 million, or 91 cents per share, for the three months ended Jan. 31, up from $688 million, or 75 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue increased 10.7 percent to $15.57 billion for the quarter from $14.06 billion the year before.

“We are pleased with our overall financial results for 2003,” said Bob Ulrich, company chairman and chief executive officer. “As expected, we delivered much stronger growth in the fourth quarter than in our first nine months.”

Same-store sales for the fourth quarter increased 4.9 percent. Same-store sales – sales at stores open at least a year – are considered the best indicator of a retailer’s health.

The Bangor Target, located adjacent to The Home Depot on Longview Drive, will be the second location open in Maine. Target opened a store in South Portland almost two years ago. Rose said the new location is favorable and expects to attract a lot of mall traffic.

“Dad can go to Home Depot while Mom comes over here,” Rose said. “We’re in a good area where people won’t have to go to a different part of town to shop. Everything’s right here.”

While maintenance workers put the finishing touches on the store’s exterior, the inside of the Bangor Target was clean and bright with its trademark red logos everywhere. The Starbucks cafe lines the front part of the store with tables and chairs in front of large windows overlooking the parking lot.

Rose said the March 7 grand opening will feature all the promotions and hoopla that could be expected but declined to go into detail.

“Everything is pretty much ready to go, all we need now are the customers,” Rose said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.